Jess McLeod
Jess McLeod (born January 25, 1997) is a Canadian actor and writer who played Janae Mathews on both series of Netflix teen television drama One of Us Is Lying and Bernie Simon in the 2023 Christmas slasher film It's a Wonderful Knife. McLeod was credited as Jessica McLeod in earlier roles, including the 2014 film Preggoland, where they played the character Liz. McLeod now uses Jess as their professional name and uses they/them pronouns, having transitioned from using their earlier name Jessica in screen credits.
Also recorded as Jessica McLeod
Jess McLeod

Kevin Payravi · Kevin Payravi / WikiPortraits · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Name
- Jess McLeod
- Born
- 25 January 1997
- Occupation
- Actor, writer
- Nationality
- Canada.
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wikidata · Q42570935 · wikipedia · Jess McLeod
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Jess McLeod • Born — 25 January 1997 • Occupation — Actor, writer • Years Active — 2005–present • Television — One of Us Is Lying
Early life
Early life
McLeod is from Victoria, British Columbia. They attended Claremont Secondary School. At school they were a part of Claremont Musical Theatre and starred as Elle Woods in its production of the musical Legally Blonde.
Career
Career
Mcleod started as a child actor, appearing in 2006 comedy Scary Movie 4 as a schoolgirl reading My Pet Duck to Leslie Nielsen as the American president. Their later acting credits include roles in Eve of Destruction, Shall We Play?, and the Van Helsing TV series. They had a role in Canadian comedy drama series You Me Her. In 2019, McLeod was cast in Peacock teen television drama One of Us Is Lying. McLeod played Janae Mathews on both series of the show. McLeod could be seen alongside Sandra Bullock and Viola Davis in the 2021 film The Unforgivable. They appeared as Bernie Simon in the 2023 film It's a Wonderful Knife. In November 2023, they won the ACTRA Award for best performance in a short film for their role in A Little Vacation, the script for which they also co-wrote.
Personal life
Personal life
McLeod is non-binary and uses they/them pronouns. They are based in Vancouver.
Television
Television
• Year — Title — Role — Notes • 2013 — Eve of Destruction — Ruby — Miniseries • 2018–2019 — You Me Her — Sasha — 12 episodes • 2019 — Van Helsing — Shelley — TV series • 2020 — Shall We Play? — Jess — TV series • 2021–2022 — One of Us Is Lying — Janae Matthews — 16 episodes; Peacock teen drama; both seasons • 2025 — The Irrational — Olivia Ellison — 1 episode • 2026 — The Audacity — Harper — Recurring season 1, Main season 2
Writing credits
Writing credits
• Year — Title — Type — Notes • 2023 — A Little Vacation — Short film — Co-wrote script
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 1 entries
1997
Jess McLeod born at British Columbia.
Film
• Year — Title — Role • 2006 — Scary Movie 4 — Little girl • 2009 — Mr. Troop Mom — Paulina • 2014 — Preggoland — Liz • 2021 — The Unforgivable — Hannah Whelan • 2023 — A Little Vacation — Jess • 2023 — It's a Wonderful Knife — Bernie Simon • 2025 — Normal — Alex Gunderson • 2025 — Akashi — Shelby • 2026 — Our Effed Up World — Finn • 2026 — Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma — Tracy
Awards
• Year — Award — Category — Work — Result • 2023 — UBCP/ACTRA Awards — Best Performance in a Short Film — A Little Vacation — Won

Jess McLeod at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival
Kevin Payravi · Kevin Payravi / WikiPortraits
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Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Jess McLeod, revision 1374264495 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 20 August 2026.
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